Major Changes to Industrial Helmet Standards: What EN 397:2025 Means for UK and European Workplaces

For employers, safety managers and PPE specifiers, the change is not simply a new label on a hard hat. It creates a clearer route to selecting protection for lateral impacts, work at height, integrated accessories, electrical risks and visibility needs.

A shift from one helmet standard to two protection types

The headline change is the introduction of two defined helmet types.

Type 1 is broadly aligned with the traditional industrial helmet use case and retains protection expectations similar to the previous EN 397:2012 standard. A 5 kg hemispherical striker is dropped onto the crown of the helmet to generate a 49 J impact.

Type 2 is the major advance. It is designed for settings where a worker may experience more than a vertical falling-object impact, for example a fall, a swing into a structure, restricted-space work or repeated contact hazards. It must manage higher-energy crown impacts and impacts to the side, front and rear of the head.

Why multi-directional protection matters

The previous standard centred on impacts from above. That remains essential in construction, manufacturing, warehousing and maintenance, but it does not fully reflect the risks in modern industrial work.

Type 2 helmets make off-crown protection explicit. This is particularly relevant where people work:

• At height or on elevated platforms
• Around scaffolding, structural steelwork or confined spaces
• Near moving plant, fixed structures or protrusions
• In logistics, rail, utilities and energy environments
• In roles requiring frequent movement, climbing or awkward positioning

The revision also helps reduce historic uncertainty over when an industrial user should look to a mountaineering-style helmet standard. EN 397:2025 now provides an industrial-helmet route for higher levels of multi-directional impact protection.

Chinstraps become a risk-based requirement

The retention system is another significant area of change.

For a Type 1 helmet, a chinstrap remains optional. When fitted, it must remain connected when subjected to a 150 N force. This preserves flexibility for general industrial settings where a breakaway-style arrangement may help reduce snagging risk.

For Type 2, however, a chinstrap is compulsory. It is tested at 500 N and the retention system is assessed using sudden front-and-rear forces to check that the helmet stays on the headform. That distinction is important: a helmet cannot protect a wearer during a fall or lateral impact if it leaves their head.

New and updated performance options

EN 397:2025 does more than introduce Type 1 and Type 2. It expands the range of special application and performance requirements available to manufacturers and specifiers.

Off-crown penetration resistance

Both helmet types may be assessed for penetration over a wider area of the shell, addressing lateral hazards. The additional test uses a reduced drop height of 375 mm.

Electrical insulation

Electrical requirements have moved to EN 50365:2023. The revised approach excludes vented helmets and covers insulation requirements for voltages up to 17 kV.

Electrostatic performance

The standard adds electrostatic properties, performance tests and guidance relevant to different ATEX zones. This matters where static discharge could present an ignition risk.

Enhanced visibility

New options address visibility in both daylight and dark conditions, offering a more structured way to specify helmets for low-light, traffic-adjacent or visually complex workplaces.

Temperature conditioning

Helmets can still be tested at up to +150°C, while the lower-temperature limit has been removed, enabling testing below −20°C without a custom technical specification.

Lateral deformation (removed)

This option has been removed because the committee concluded that the test was not representative of real-life risk. Instead, Type 2’s lateral-impact assessment provides a more relevant measure of side protection.

Accessories must be treated as part of the system

Modern helmets are frequently used as platforms for face protection, hearing protection, lights, neck protection, communication devices and other accessories. EN 397:2025 gives this reality much greater attention.

Where an attachment could affect helmet conformity, particularly its impact performance, it must be fitted during the applicable testing and assessed as compatible. The standard also introduces an ergonomics and mobility assessment in which users fit and operate the helmet, accessories and additions while carrying out basic exercises.

That has an important procurement consequence: it is no longer enough to buy a compliant helmet and then attach unrelated accessories. Employers should seek evidence that the specified combination has been tested or approved as a system.

For example, a visor, ear defenders and a lamp bracket may alter a helmet’s balance, retention, impact behaviour or usability. Under the new approach, compatibility is increasingly a conformity issue, not merely a comfort preference.

What employers should do now

Existing EN 397:2012 approvals remain valid until the relevant CE or UKCA certificate expires, and dual certification may be used during the transition. That means organisations do not necessarily need to replace every existing helmet immediately.

However, this is the right time to review head-protection policy rather than wait for a certificate deadline.

1. Review task-based risk assessments. Identify roles with fall potential, climbing, lateral-contact risks, moving plant, structural obstructions, electrical exposure, heat, molten metal or explosive atmospheres.
2. Map roles to Type 1 or Type 2. Type 1 may remain suitable for conventional falling-object risks; Type 2 should be considered where keeping the helmet in place and protecting against side, front and rear impacts are material requirements.
3. Audit helmet-accessory combinations. List every visor, hearing protector, lamp, communications unit, face shield and neck cape in use, then confirm compatibility with the intended helmet.
4. Update purchasing specifications. Avoid specifying “EN 397 compliant” alone. State the required helmet type and any relevant optional performance needs, such as electrical insulation, off-crown penetration resistance, visibility or electrostatic properties.
5. Train wearers and supervisors. Explain why particular teams may move to a Type 2 helmet, why chinstraps are mandatory in specific tasks and why unauthorised modifications or accessories can undermine compliance.

The wider significance

EN 397:2025 reflects a more mature view of head protection. Rather than assuming all industrial helmet users face the same hazard profile, it distinguishes between basic crown protection and more demanding multi-directional protection. It also recognises that helmets are increasingly part of integrated PPE systems rather than standalone shells.

The key message for organisations is straightforward: the new standard offers a better basis for matching head protection to real work. The opportunity is not simply to “comply with EN 397:2025,” but to use its clearer categories and more relevant tests to reduce the chance, and severity, of head injury in contemporary workplaces.